WEST BOUNTIFUL — Child abuse is costly and is pervasive throughout society, including Davis County.

“We like to think child abuse doesn’t happen in Davis County, but it does,” Suzy Lee, a prevention specialist with Prevent Child Abuse Utah told members of the Bountiful Breakfast Exchange Club last week.

Lee provided club members with statistics that show the direct or indirect cost to Utah as a result of child abuse as $2.84 million each day.

Those statistics also show that in Utah, a child is abused or neglected every 38 minutes.

Lee, a Farmington resident, gave club members an overview of services provided by Prevent Child Abuse Utah, which includes educating parents, teachers and students on child abuse issues and equipping them to report it.

The organization offers school-based programs that target specific age groups of children.

Children in preschool through second grade are told to listen to their “oh-oh feelings,” and to pay attention if someone inappropriately touches them, or they feel they’re not safe, Lee said.

“We tell them they have the right to tell anyone ‘no’ if it’s hurting and then to go to adults they can trust. Children are asked to pick three adults they could trust to tell if they’re being abused.

“If one of the parents is the abuser, we ask them to pick someone else. It may be a teacher or a neighbor,” Lee said. “The kids are pretty good about knowing who they can trust.”